Colleen Mondor is a former dispatcher for a Fairbanks-based air carrier. Her book, The Map Of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska, details her years working in the Alaska aviation industry. The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. Contact Colleen Mondor at colleen(at)alaskadispatch.com.

As we all know everyone likes to blame someone else for their mistakes. Everybody who operates a piece of equipment (bus, train, forklift, bulldozer, boat, plane etc...) is pressured to pay the bills. The difference between a professional and recreational/amateur operator. The "Professional" is a "Professional" because their training and experience prevents bad things from happening.

Anytime a pilot or mechanic would convey to me that they felt pressured I would teach them what is expected from a person collecting compensation. Stand -up straight and find your backbone. The customer looks up to you and respects your every decision prove to them you are not subject to peer pressure.... "You are the peer now".

Plus she mixed the Law enforcement command structure (semi military) into the story which is not related so much to private industry. Being retired Law Enforcement myself I often had to find ways to avoid being killed by idiot paper-pushers who were much further up the food chain. However on the private side,,,I have seen more than a few 135 pilots who fly when they should not just so they can keep a job which does not pay all that great to begin with.

Good article for any PIC, and any PIC should always firmly remember what the "C" word is in PIC.... Especially when participating in these organizations with their quasi-military structure of authority and people all puffed up with their commander positions day after day.

The comment section pilot who was nicknamed "Chicken" got to see 2 of his nicknamers die in crashes of their own making, righteous and harsh confirmation of a good judgement exemplified in his successful flight completions v. the flip side.

The "Archie Ferguson" attitude was fairly sickening as I read his section in the great book, THE FLYING NORTH last year. His declaration, "...the weather's fine here..." is a real jewel. If a pilot takes a job with an owner like that, he/she should have their "I quit" lines well rehearsed, as most likely they will need to use them.

The company Pilot is the only guy in the company that's paid to say "No". That's when he is really earning his pay and let's face it most of the time it's not a "no" but an option of different time or slight change to destination. I have found it easier in the morning when shaving to be able to look myself in the eye even though I've had to worry how I was going to feed the family. No regrets so far buts lots of adventures! I worry about bosses who question loyalty, funny thing, if all parties have integrity the word loyalty doesn't even need to exist.

"Still dreaming and hoping to die young at heart with a bar room story that will close the place"

My fav in the "Nope, can't fly..." styles is the charter pilot who had a bunch of pushy fisherman at the end of their trip pushing him to fly them back out of the bush for hundreds of miles in unflyable weather. He got tired of arguing with them so he just went to the supplies and swigged a healthy number of shots of scotch in front of them all and said he was going to sleep.... End of discussion.